CAER obtains $400,000 grant to develop facility plan
The Center for Advanced Engineering and Research (CAER)
has obtained a $400,000 grant from the Virginia Tobacco Commission to
develop a business model and detailed architectural and construction
plan for a facility that will be used by CAER staff and visiting and
resident faculty and scientists to conduct regional research projects
in support of local industry. The
CAER board of directors has selected the New London Business and
Technology Center, a technology-zoned park at East Lynchburg-Salem
Turnpike in Bedford County, as the best location for the long-term
operation of the facility.
"The objective all along has been to have a central location for
research to be conducted within the region itself, in close proximity
to the companies we support," said Bob Bailey, Executive Director of
the CAER. "We are thrilled to get this funding as it will bring that
goal another step closer to reality."
Bailey said research projects that his organization initiates on behalf
of local companies are currently conducted outside the region at
universities such as Virginia Tech and UVA. Earlier this month, the
CAER and Liberty University announced the opening of a wireless test
lab at LU that will move some of that research into Region 2000. A new
CAER facility will expand on that even more with a central location for
universities and federal labs to conduct research in support of area
companies and a place for technology education by local and traveling
professors.
The CAER is a non-profit organization that creates working partnerships
between high-tech industry, major R&D centers, and university
researchers to foster an economically flourishing region. These
partnerships bring together public and private resources in Virginia's Region 2000.